 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(December 2018) |
Chris Gannon | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Christopher James Gannon 13 May 1969 Westminster, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Emergency management specialist | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Christopher James Gannon (born 13 May 1969) is a globally recognized figure in the fire service and emergency management industry and a former international footballer. [1]
He attended Sir Frederic Osborn Secondary School in Welwyn Garden City. Gannon was the founder and first Chief Fire Officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the British West Indies and is an adviser on emergency service reform and disaster management to many governments. He later established his own company to improve Fire Departments worldwide. [2]
Gannon is a renowned fire, rescue and disaster management expert. He has gained a reputation for reforming and improving emergency organisations in over 40 countries. Having begun his career in the Fire and Rescue Service in Great Britain, Gannon was later recruited by the British Government (FCO) to conduct a liability assessment of emergency services in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), a UK protectorate in the Caribbean. As a result of the findings, and at just 34 years of age, he was commissioned as the first national Chief Fire Officer with a mandate to design, build and manage fire and rescue services from concept to completion. [3]
He was later given the added responsibility of managing fire services at the 6 national and international airports to ICAO standards. He was the British Government Fire Service adviser for the UK Overseas Territories between 2002–2009 and formed part of the FCO Disaster Management Review Team. He also gained accreditation from the United Nations (OCHA) as a disaster and emergency management specialist and has responded to many major natural disasters around the world. After achieving all objectives in the TCI within 6 years, he was recruited by a private company to do the same for the luxury island of Ambergris Cay.
The celebrated U.S publication 'Fire Chief Magazine' published an article on his work in 2008, entitled 'Fires Mercenary' which led to government sponsored reviews in the Caribbean and Latin America. He was decorated for his work in Bolivia by President Evo Morales. [4]
In 2009 he founded 'Gannon Emergency Solutions' [5] with offices in London, the US and South America and provides specialist Fire Service reviews for Governments, NGO's, private companies and institutions. [6] [7] Currently Gannon is working with authorities in Thailand to improve emergency preparedness across the country including historic national sites such as Wat Arun in Bangkok.
When asked to describe his methodology, Gannon states; "Unlike most consultants in the industry, I haven't retired from one state or national organization and don't simply repeat what was learned during that career. Clients get someone who brings unique global experience and best practices to the table".
In 2019 Gannon led the coordination of international aid in response to the Bolivian Amazonic wildfires Embajada británica se solidariza por los incendios y brinda apoyo con dos expertos. In 2021 he reviewed Emergency Preparedness in the world famous town of Jackson Hole in Teton County Report highlights Fire/EMS shortcomings He published a scathing report on the management of Apopka FD in Florida following the death of Firefighter Austin Duran in 2023. https://theapopkavoice.com/stories/independent-report-on-apopka-fire-department-is-withering-rebuke,32674
Most recently, he was retained by Pulaski County, Virginia to create a first paid fire department and help reshape their EMS system. https://pcpatriot.com/change-agent-selected-by-county/
Gannon regularly speaks and appears at industry events and is a regular contributor to forums and publications International Fire Fighter – International Fire Fighter Magazine is the leading global publication for municipal and industrial fire fighters and the fire and rescue industry.
Gannon played in the same Sir Frederic Osborn school team as former England international goalkeeper, David James. He represented Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Fulham FC and Stevenage Borough at schoolboy level, but after failing to gain a professional contract spent his UK playing career in the semi professional divisions of the Isthmian, Jewson and United Counties Leagues. He also latterly played in the Peterborough Premier League winning titles with both Molins FC and Pearl Assurance FC. [8]
While working in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Gannon was selected to represent the country as a central defender in their FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns in 2004 and 2008, [1] [9] An article published by Bloomberg said that the players had to raise finance for their own travel fees for away games. Gannon later stated that the Turks and Caicos Islands FA were 'strongly encouraged' by FIFA and CONCACAF to field an almost entirely expatriate team in World Cup qualifying games to justify receipt of funds from the FIFA "Goal" programme. [10]
The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population in 2023 was estimated by The World Factbook at 59,367, making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population. However, according to a Department of Statistics estimate in 2022, the population was 47,720.
Communications in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Before European colonization, the Turks and Caicos Islands were inhabited by Taíno and Lucayan peoples. The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries, the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, the islands received their own governor, and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections.
An office of emergency management (OEM) is a local, municipal, tribal, state, federal/national, or international organization responsible for: planning for, responding to, and dealing with recovery efforts related to natural, manmade, technological, or otherwise hazardous disasters by planning and implementing large scale emergency response plans/procedures, coordinating emergency assets during a disaster, and providing logistical, administrative and financial support to a disaster response effort.
Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby as of August 9, 2006 the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Turks and Caicos Islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Council.
Emergency management is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actually focus on the management of emergencies; emergency management or disaster management can be understood as minor events with limited impacts and are managed through the day-to-day functions of a community. Instead, emergency management focuses on the management of disasters, which are events that produce more impacts than a community can handle on its own. The management of disasters tends to require some combination of activity from individuals and households, organizations, local, and/or higher levels of government. Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.
Providenciales is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of 98 km2 (38 sq mi) and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the third largest island in the Turks and Caicos in area, and is home to a large majority of the population of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Saint Lucia's National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) is responsible for disaster preparedness and disaster response co-ordination.
Oswald O'Neil Skippings is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 19 June 1980 to 4 November 1980 and again from 3 March 1988 to 3 April 1991.
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Salt Cay is the second largest of the Turks Islands, one of the two island groups forming of the British territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. Its area is 6.74 square kilometres. The size of the district, which also includes some unpopulated islands like Cotton Cay nearby, is 9.1 square kilometres. The population is 108, all in the district capital Balfour Town, established in 1673, on the west coast.
Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security, founded in 2002 as part of the USA Freedom Corps, that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.
The Honourable Galmo "Gilley" Williams is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who served as the 2nd Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 23 March 2009 to 14 August 2009.
Many countries around the world have civil defense organizations dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks and providing rescue services after widespread disasters. In most countries, civil defense is a government-managed and often volunteer-staffed organization.
Sharlene Linette Cartwright-Robinson JP is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician and lawyer who served as the 4th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 20 December 2016 to 20 February 2021. She was the territory's first female premier. She was also the first woman to become first, deputy head, and then, head of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM).
Interhealth Canada is an international provider of healthcare services specialising in orthopaedics and trauma. Its Head Office is located in Toronto with regional offices in Dubai, Kuwait and the United Kingdom. Wilson Parasiuk was a director from 1994 to 2002.
Fred Dorvil is a Turks and Caicos Islands international footballer who plays as a forward for Provo Premier League side Beaches.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 23 March 2020, and the first death occurred on 5 April. On 12 May, all cases were declared resolved, but on 20 June, new cases had been discovered. On 4 July 2021, all cases resolved again. On 8 July, new cases were discovered.
Nigel John Dakin (born 28 February 1964 is a British diplomat and soldier who served as Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands between 15 July 2019 and 29 March 2023.
This page details the match results and statistics of the Turks and Caicos Islands national football team.